1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hand-held devices used for removing weeds from the ground and to devices for picking up debris.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous devices for removing weeds from the ground have been developed. Many of these devices have sharp or pointed lower edges, hooks, or one or more tines or spikes which are used to stab the earth adjacent to the roots of the plant that is to be removed from the earth.
A variety of tine structures, orientations and methods of attachment to handles have been devised to assist in separating the weed roots from the surrounding soil.
For example, the patent of Shredl (U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,966) is for a weeder which has a plurality of prongs projecting from one end of the handle. The prongs engage the weed and break up the ground surrounding the weed as the handle is rotated. The weed becomes entangled in the prongs and may be removed from the soil.
The device of Disston, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,542) is a weeder having a handgrip on one end, four slanted tines on the other end affixed to the underside of a plate, and a stripper member located beneath the plate to eject the removed weed from the tines. The stripper member has an upwardly extending actuator so that it may be moved from a position adjacent the plate to the end of the tines, thus clearing the tines of affixed plant material.
The weed removing tool of Fuchs (U.S. Pat. No. 3,663,050) includes a large sleeve having prongs extending therefrom for engaging the plant. The prongs extend from a fixed block in the central opening of the sleeve. The large sleeve is slidably attached to an inner sleeve by means of a nut and bolt fastener extending through the inner sleeve and slots in the large sleeve. An external coil spring extends from the fastener to the end of the lower sleeve. The large sleeve may be pushed down against the spring to push a plant from the tines.
The patent of Sullivan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,283) is for a rotary weed extractor. Spikes are mounted on a block on the lower end of a torque bar. A spring-loaded ejector cartridge is movably mounted on the torque bar and includes a plate mounted between the spikes. A weed removed with the extractor is expelled by manually extending the ejector cartridge along the torque bar.
The garden tool of Parks et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,888) has a prong assembly connected to a housing. The prong assembly and a handle assembly are snappingly connectable to the housing, and means are included for preventing rotation relative to the housing when the device is rotated to remove a weed.
Tines or spikes are also provided on a variety of hand-held devices used to pick up trash and other debris. For example, in the patent of Jones (U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,192), spikes are mounted in a line on a block, and a stripper plate with holes is manually pushed over the spikes to remove speared trash.
Hand-held weed removal devices requiring rotation to remove the weeds often fail to pull the plant out of the earth when the tines are removed from the soil. When the plant is removed from the soil, many devices do not have a convenient way to remove the speared plant from the tines. Rotation of weed-removing devices in the soil, especially firm, heavy or root-containing soil, is often difficult, especially for persons who are not especially strong.
Most devices which are useful in weeding are not particularly useful in picking up pine cones, branches or other debris which may also be present on a lawn requiring weed removal. Also, many of the devices used for weeding or for picking up debris that have exposed tines, spikes, prongs or other sharp points present a potential source of injury.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a lawn-care device which is useful both for extracting weeds from the soil and for picking up debris.
It is another object of this invention to provide a lawn-care device having spikes and a protective cover for the spikes.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a lawn-care device which is easily inserted into the soil around a plant to be removed, and which may be used to remove plants from the soil without requiring rotation of the device.
It is another object of this invention to provide a lawn-care device having an easily operated means of removal of the plant from spikes of the device.
Other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following disclosure and appended claims.